About this project

Lightstrap is a photographic lighting tool for iPhone 5 and 5S that enables you to shoot stunning photos and videos at night. No more blur and grain, just crisp vibrant photos with the distinctive look of a professional ring light. Lightstrap follows the flash on your phone so it works seamlessly with all camera apps.

Lightstrap provides soft light, color control and flexible power. Even the most expensive professional flash units lack these features. It’s a superior approach to low-light photography and it comes first to iPhone. But don’t take our word for it. Keep scrolling to see Lightstrap in action.

THE DIFFERENCE IS IN THE DETAIL

Lightstrap dramatically reduces noise, grain and blur.

AS SEEN ON

We've field tested dozens of Lightstrap prototypes with journalists and photographers. The design has been transferred to our manufacturing partners. We can get Lightstrap into your hands for $97. Pledge today for delivery by or before April, 2014.

HANDS ON WITH LIGHTSTRAP

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STRAP IN & START SHOOTING

SOFTER LIGHT

Professional photographers use a ring light to get the distinctive look seen in magazines like Vogue. Lightstrap brings this advanced lighting technology to iPhone. Bathe your subjects in soft, flattering light without the harsh shadows, paleness and red eye associated with regular flash photography.

COLOR CONTROL

Select the perfect light color for your scene, from warm like a sunrise to cool like high noon. Choosing the right color temperature improves skin tone, preserves mood, and eliminates the paleness associated with regular flashes.

FLEXIBLE POWER

Choose from seven brightness levels so you get exactly the light you need. With 10 times the power of the iPhone 5S, even the most challenging night-shots are transformed from dark and blurry to crisp and vibrant. You’ll also find that filters and effects work better with the clean, evenly-exposed photos you get with Lightstrap.

ABOUT BRICK & PIXEL

Brick & Pixel was founded by Ben Clawson and Cassidy Clawson, a father/son team with extensive experience in research, development and manufacturing. The two worked together for a decade at BC Tech, an outsourced product development company founded by Ben Clawson in the early 90s.

At its peak, BC Tech employed 70 individuals (engineers, designers, technicians, assemblers, etc.) providing research, development and manufacturing services to the medical device industry. The company launched dozens of successful products for startups and Fortune 500 clients, including handheld electronic devices, disposable plastic tools and complex diagnostic equipment. Ben managed the product development group and Cassidy managed marketing and new product introductions.

BC Tech circa 2007.

At Brick & Pixel, Ben and Cassidy are joined by a network of veteran engineers and consultants, with expertise spanning mechanical design, injection molding, electronic hardware, firmware, industrial design, packaging, regulatory affairs, compliance, quality control, cost reduction, manufacturing transfer, logistics and more. We’ve worked with our team for years on many challenging products.

ORIGIN STORY

Lightstrap was conceived by Cassidy Clawson on a Sunday morning in February, 2013. After flipping through the photos he took the night before, he realized there wasn't a single shot he was willing to share with friends. The photos were all dark and grainy.

The product concept came to him in an instant - a sleek phone case that doubled as a flash and video light. Drawing from his experience with studio photography and video production, he laid out the requirements: 10 times brighter, diffuse light, adjustable color temperature and compatible with all camera apps.

Cassidy drew on his experience in studio photography and video production when designing Lightstrap.

Ben and Cassidy assembled their trusted team of engineers (Gary Hart, Alan Grantz, Charlie Payne, Chris Kilgus and Juan Carlos Plascencia) and got to work. The team pursued parallel development of a finished design and a proof of concept prototype. The team also performed extensive "black box testing" on the iPhone 5 (and later iPhone 5S) camera and flash to ensure full compatibility.

The team used 3D prints and quick-turn boards to advance the design as quickly as possible, eventually arriving at the present concept: a centrally located battery, surrounded by a ring shaped LED array, with a simple interface featuring two buttons and three RGB LEDs. Once the flash levels were dialed in, Lightstrap was taking consistently great photos.

The design was locked in October and the team built 15 functional prototypes for testing, promotion and production of our Kickstarter content. The design was then refined for strength and manufacturability and the files passed to our vendors for analysis, improvement and quotation.

MANUFACTURING PLAN

We're coming to the Kickstarter community with a finished design that is ready for manufacture.

The plastic parts, the board, the firmware, the custom battery, the packaging and documentation - it's all done and transferred to our manufacturing partners. Partners include:

- EMS: An electronic manufacturing services company will source components, populate the circuit board, assemble and test the device, and ship boxes of Lightstrap to a fulfillment company.

- Fulfillment Company: A fulfillment company will receive and inspect the product and ship individual units to our customers.

We made sure to ask for enough to cover all of our production expenses, as well as money for the important details like intellectual property, attorneys, insurance, regulatory tests, certifications, quality control, and much more.

Our next steps are to authorize our vendors to begin production and complete regulatory certification of the device and battery. We will manage the vendors, submit any outstanding deliverables (like package art) and deal with any hiccups as they arise.

We're confident we will ship by or before April of 2014.

COMMON QUESTIONS

How do I use Lightstrap? Lightstrap is easy to use. One button controls brightness.
The second controls color temperature. Three LEDs display current settings.
Advanced features like exposure compensation are accessed by holding the
brightness button.

Does Lightstrap drain my phone battery? No, Lightstrap contains its own battery that is charged with
a micro USB cable. Expect upwards of 500 flashes or 30 minutes of video per
charge. The battery stays charged for more than a month.

What is Lightstrap’s range of color temperature? Lightstrap's color range is ~3000k to ~5700k in six
incremented steps.

How bright is Lightstrap? Lightstrap offers seven brightness levels. The softest flash setting is approximately the same brightness as your phone. The brightest flash setting is nearly fifteen times brighter than iPhone 5. The video light is upwards of 30 times brighter than iPhone.

Which iPhones is Lightstrap compatible with? Lightstrap is compatible with iPhone 5 and 5S. Lightstrap is not available for iPhone 4, 4S or 5C at this time.

Does Lightstrap match
color like the True Tone 5S flash? No. Lightstrap does not automatically match the color of the
scene based on the color of the True Tone flash. You choose the color and
brightness for your scene for optimal results.

What are the
dimensions? Lightstrap is 16mm thick and weighs 2.5 ounces, making
Lightstrap about the same size as a high-protection case. Sleek design ensures
Lightstrap rides comfortably in your purse or pocket all day and night.

Will Lightstrap
protect my phone? Lightstrap was engineered for strength and has been
subjected to durability testing. Our testing suggests Lightstrap will survive light
drops and provides substantial protection to your phone. But every drop is
different and we make no claims or warranties that Lightstrap is protective or drop
resistant.

Risks and challenges

Product development is inherently risky. New products face technological, financial and legal threats that can delay or derail a product launch. We know because we’ve seen it first hand when working with clients at BC Tech.

We have attempted to reduce risk by coming to Kickstarter with a finished design that is in the hands of our manufacturing partners. This eliminates design uncertainty and gives us the exact cost of bringing our product to market. Our supply chain is vetted, with redundancy for all mission-critical vendors in case of unforeseen challenges. Our product concept is cleared for use and protected by multiple pending patents. Our budget is generous to accommodate unforeseen cost overruns.

We face the standard risks associated with hardware manufacturing. These risks include component shortages, problems with injection molded tools and problems passing regulatory tests. These problems can burn up money and delay production. While we have attempted to reduce these risks by using abundantly available components, designing a highly moldable product and performing regulatory testing during development, we have still included some extra time in our schedule to deal with unforeseen problems. We have diligently applied "best practice" risk reduction strategies from the medical device industry to ensure the highest probability of success.

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*** NEWS & UPDATES ***
We’ll bare all and show you how we launch Lightstrap and turn Brick & Pixel into a real technology company. Equal parts far-east travelogue, engineering-crash course and industry analysis. See how a good idea gets turned into a manufactured product.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $597 or more
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*** ANGEL PACKAGE *** Your generous contribution will give us the capital we need for a swift and successful launch. You will receive one production Lightstrap, and your name or company name will be printed prominently in the product packaging and featured in the companion app. We will also turn to you for input on pending features and tweaks. Thank you for your support and council.